The nuclear scissors mode within two approaches (Wigner function moments versus RPA)

Two complementary methods to describe the collective motion, RPA and Wigner function moments method, are compared on an example of a simple model - harmonic oscillator with quadrupole-quadrupole residual interaction. It is shown that they give identical formulae for eigenfrequencies and transition probabilities of all collective excitations of the model including the scissors mode, which here is the subject of our special attention. The exact relation between the variables of the two methods and the respective dynamical equations is established. The normalization factor of the "synthetic" scissors state and its overlap with physical states are calculated analytically. The orthogonality of the spurious state to all physical states is proved rigorously.Comment: 39 page

130 - Interventions for treating obstetric fistula: Results of an evidence gap map

HYPOTHESIS / AIMS OF STUDY: Obstetric fistula is a debilitating condition prevalent in low- and middle-income countries; it is estimated that there are between 50,000 to 100,000 new cases each year. The World Health Organization (WHO) aims to eradicate obstetric fistula by 2030. However, there is no overview of the breadth and quality of evidence surrounding interventions for obstetric fistula to inform current practice. Evidence gap maps (EGMs) are a type of evidence synthesis used to visualise the breadth of research on a specific topic area. This EGM aimed to collate and visualise the evidence available on obstetric fistula interventions and to identify potential research gaps. STUDY DESIGN, MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey was conducted so key stakeholders (e.g. clinicians, patients, the public or researchers) could rank the most important intervention categories and outcome measures for research into obstetric fistula to assist in designing the framework for the EGM. The survey was developed using Qualtrics, a secure web-based platform and was distributed on 16 February 2022 to professional and charitable organisations with an interest in obstetric fistula as well as clinical contacts. The survey invite was allowed to snowball from initial distribution contacts and remained open until 14 March 2022. Results of the survey were tabulated and analysed in Microsoft Excel by a single reviewer and used to inform the EGM framework. Search strategies for the EGM were peer-reviewed by an experienced Information Specialist before being undertaken on MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, Global Index Medicus and ScanMedicine on 16 February 2022 to identify potentially eligible systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials (RCTs), cohort studies and case-control studies. All studies were screened at title and abstract and full-text stages by a single reviewer according to a pre-defined Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome (PICO) criteria. A second reviewer screened 10% of records at both stages to check accuracy of decision-making. To ensure directness of the evidence in the EGM to the population of interest, only studies with at least 80% of women having fistula of obstetric aetiology were included. Where fistula aetiology was not explicitly described in demographic information but alluded to in titles, these were included in the EGM but subjected to sensitivity analysis. Forward and backward citation chaining was performed on all included systematic reviews and primary studies to identify any potentially eligible studies the searches may have missed .Included systematic reviews and primary studies were coded by a single reviewer within EPPI-Reviewer using a a pre-piloted coding tool informed by the stakeholder survey. Another reviewer coded a proportion of these records to check accuracy. Risk of bias assessments for all included reports were conducted by a single reviewer using either: AMSTAR-2 for systematic reviews; Cochrane’s ‘Risk of bias’ tool for RCTs; or the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklists for cohort and case-control studies. A second reviewer checked 20% of these assessments for accuracy. Following coding, the EGM was generated using the EPPI-Mapper wizard and results were compared with survey findings to identify research gaps correlating with unmet needs. A single sensitivity analysis was undertaken using specific filters within the EGM to determine the amount of research where at least 80% of the included population explicitly had fistula of obstetric origin and that reported on the effects of different interventions separately. RESULTS:: In total, 39 people responded to the stakeholder survey, 59% of whom were clinicians. The respondents identified surgery for obstetric fistula as the most important intervention category for underpinning research. According to the survey, the most important outcome measures for research were: quality of life; cure and improvement of obstetric fistula; urinary incontinence; faecal incontinence; mental health; and sexual function. Of the 9796 records originally identified by database searches, only 37 reports of 28 studies were considered eligible for the EGM (Fig. 1). In total, the EGM included: seven RCTs; six prospective cohort studies; 12 retrospective cohort studies; one historical cohort study; one case-control study; and one systematic review. Most studies (n = 17) exclusively examined women with vesicovaginal fistula. Most included studies (71%) assessed the effects of surgery on treating obstetric fistula, while one focused on psychological interventions, four on catheter insertion and one on physical therapies. No included studies assessed the effects of lifestyle interventions. Regarding outcome measures, 24 studies reported on cure or improvement of obstetric fistula, while 20 reported on urinary incontinence. Reporting of other key outcome measures identified by the stakeholder survey was limited; only two studies reported on quality of life, while two studies reported on faecal incontinence, one on mental health and one on sexual function. Furthermore, the results of the sensitivity analysis removed all studies assessing psychological or physical therapy, while no RCTs assessing surgery remained in the EGM. INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS: The overall lack of evidence identified for the EGM, particularly for outcome measures identified as important to key stakeholders, suggests there is currently little evidence to guide practice and policy. The results of the sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the overall applicability of the current evidence specifically to women with obstetric fistula is limited and that subsequent systematic reviews may currently not be feasible. Many of the included studies were at some risk of bias. Cohort and case-control studies were at particular risk of bias, mainly due to a lack of controlling for potential confounders. CONCLUDING MESSAGE: Currently, there is little robust evidence to guide women and practitioners on treatment options for obstetric fistula. Further research is required to address the research gaps identified by this EGM. FIGURE 1: Funding This work was supported by Newcastle University as part of Training Fellowships awarded to EEJ and NO’C, Newcastle University as part of a tenured post awarded to LV, and various National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funding, including the NIHR Innovation Observatory, for FP. Neither Newcastle University nor the NIHR had any role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to submit for presentation and publication. PH and JG did not receive funding for this work. Clinical Trial No Subjects Non

Comparison of Magnetic Field Structures on Different Scales in and around the Filamentary Dark Cloud GF 9

New visible polarization data combined with existing IR and FIR polarization data are used to study how the magnetic field threading the filamentary molecular cloud GF 9 connects to larger structures in its general environment. We find that when both visible and NIR polarization data are plotted as a function of extinction, there is no evidence for a plateau or a saturation effect in the polarization at Av ~ 1.3 as seen in dark clouds in Taurus. This lack of saturation effect suggests that even in the denser parts of GF 9 we are still probing the magnetic field. The visible polarization is smooth and has a well-defined orientation. The IR data are also well defined but with a different direction, and the FIR data in the core region are well defined and with yet another direction, but are randomly distributed in the filament region. On the scale of a few times the mean radial dimension of the molecular cloud, it is as if the magnetic field were `blind' to the spatial distribution of the filaments while on smaller scales within the cloud, in the core region near the IRAS point source PSC 20503+6006, polarimetry shows a rotation of the magnetic field lines in these denser phases. Hence, in spite of the fact that the spatial resolution is not the same in the visible/NIR and in the FIR data, all the data put together indicate that the field direction changes with the spatial scale. Finally, the Chandrasekhar and Fermi method is used to evaluate the magnetic field strength, indicating that the core region is approximately magnetically critical. A global interpretation of the results is that in the core region an original poloidal field could have been twisted by a rotating elongated (core+envelope) structure. There is no evidence for turbulence and ambipolar diffusion does not seem to be effective at the present time.Comment: 33 pages, 6 tables, 8 figures, Accepted by Ap

Observation of Collective-Emission-Induced Cooling inside an Optical Cavity

We report the observation of collective-emission-induced, velocity-dependent light forces. One third of a falling sample containing 3 x 10^6 cesium atoms illuminated by a horizontal standing wave is stopped by cooperatively emitting light into a vertically oriented confocal resonator. We observe decelerations up to 1500 m/s^2 and cooling to temperatures as low as 7 uK, well below the free space Doppler limit. The measured forces substantially exceed those predicted for a single two-level atom.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

The blood acid base and gastrointestinal response to three different forms of sodium citrate encapsulation

Enterically coated (ENT) or delayed-release (DEL) capsules may lessen gastrointestinal symptoms (GIS) following acute sodium citrate (SC) ingestion, although the effects on blood acid-base balance are undetermined. Fourteen active males ingested 0.4  g.kg−1 body mass (BM) SC, within gelatine (GEL), DEL and ENT capsules or 0.07 g.kg−1 BM sodium chloride control (CON). Blood acid-base balance and GIS were measured for 4 h. Ingestion form had no significant effect on total GIS experienced (GEL: 2 ± 7; DEL: 1  ± 8; ENT: 1 ± 4 AU). Most (7/14) participants experienced zero symp-toms throughout. Peak GIS typically emerged ≤100 min post- ingestion, with a similar time to reach peak GIS between ingestion form (GEL: 36 ± 70; DEL: 13 ± 28; ENT: 15 ± 33 AU). Blood [HCO3−] was significantly higher with ENT versus GEL (ENT: 29.0 ± 0.8; GEL: 28.5 ± 1.1 mmol.L−1, P = 0.037). Acute ingestion of a reduced SC dose elicited minimal GIS, producing significant changes in blood [HCO3−] from rest, irrespective of ingestion form (GEL: 6.0 ± 0.9; DEL: 5.1 ± 1.0; ENT: 6.2 ± 0.8 mmol.L−1). The necessity of individualized ingestion strategies is also challenged, with sustained increases in blood [HCO3−] of ≥4 mmol.L−1 for up to 153 min highlighted. If commencing exercise at peak alkalosis augments subsequent per-formance above starting at a standardized time point where HCO3− is still elevated remains unclear

Wavefront Curvature in Optical Atomic Beam Clocks

Atomic clocks provide a reproducible basis for our understanding of time and frequency. Recent demonstrations of compact optical clocks, employing thermal atomic beams, have achieved short-term fractional frequency instabilities in the $10^{-16}$, competitive with the best international frequency standards available. However, a serious challenge inherent in compact clocks is the necessarily smaller optical beams, which results in rapid variation in interrogating wavefronts. This can cause inhomogeneous excitation of the thermal beam leading to long term drifts in the output frequency. Here we develop a model for Ramsey-Bord\'e interferometery using optical fields with curved wavefronts and simulate the $^{40}$Ca beam clock experiment described in [Olson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 073202 (2019)]. Olson et al.'s results had shown surprising and unexplained behaviour in the response of the atoms in the interrogation. Our model predicts signals consistent with experimental data and can account for the significant sensitivity to laser geometry that was reported. We find the signal-to-noise ratio is maximised when the laser is uncollimated at the interrogation zones to minimise inhomogeneity, and also identify an optimal waist size determined by both laser inhomogeneity and the velocity distribution of the atomic beam. We investigate the shifts and stability of the clock frequency, showing that the Gouy phase is the primary source of frequency variations arising from laser geometry.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

Representation theory of some infinite-dimensional algebras arising in continuously controlled algebra and topology

In this paper we determine the representation type of some algebras of infinite matrices continuously controlled at infinity by a compact metrizable space. We explicitly classify their finitely presented modules in the finite and tame cases. The algebra of row-column-finite (or locally finite) matrices over an arbitrary field is one of the algebras considered in this paper, its representation type is shown to be finite.Comment: 33 page